


Peony

by CaptainSophieStark



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:14:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptainSophieStark/pseuds/CaptainSophieStark
Summary: Peggy and Daniel have finally moved in together after dating for a while. It seems like nothing could go wrong for the happy couple, but their worlds are rocked when a person Peggy never though she'd see again reappears in her life. Written for Peggysous week day five 😄Peony Meaning: Bashfulness and shame (but don't worry, Peggy and Sousa still get their happy ending. I'm not really cut out for angst lol.)
Relationships: Peggy Carter & Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa, Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	Peony

"Daniel, are you sure you don't need any more help?"

Peggy's long-term boyfriend Daniel Sousa, Chief of the Los Angeles SSR, had been working himself to the point of exhaustion on their latest case. Chief Jack Thompson of the New York SSR had sent the case over after getting word that their prime suspect had left New York for the sunnier West Coast, and Daniel had been working non-stop following the lead ever since.

"I'm sure, Peg, thank you. You put in crazy hours on this case last week, and it's my turn now. You need to go home and get some rest."

"I don't want to leave you here to do this by yourself..."

"I promise I'll be fine. Besides, at least one of us needs to be well-rested and fully functioning. It's your turn to be that person."

Peggy chuckled, then moved in to give her boyfriend a peck on the cheek.

"Alright, if you're sure. But call me if you need anything, and try not to stay too late."

"Promise. Love you."

"I love you too."

With that, Peggy headed out the door for home. She really had been burning the midnight oil lately, and Daniel was right. With the number of enemies they had, it wasn't a bad idea to have at least one person at full capacity at all times.

It was around six when Peggy finally got to hers and Daniel's street. It was a beautiful summer day in LA, so the sun was still high in the sky. She started planning dinner in her head as she walked towards their house. She wanted to make something Daniel could easily reheat when he finally stumbled home.

Peggy's thoughts and movements stopped like she'd hit a brick wall, however, when she turned into her walkway and saw who was standing at her front door.

Steve Rogers.

It couldn't be real. Peggy had been on the line with him when he'd gone into the ice. She'd cried over him and defended his memory, dumped the last remaining vial of his blood off the Brooklyn Bridge, and forced herself to move on from her former love. Howard had scoured the planet for any sign of him and come up short despite years of trying. Steve Rogers was dead.

Still, the man who turned to face her looked exactly like Steve. He walked like Steve, wore clothes like Steve, and smiled at her just like Steve.

"Peggy," he breathed, continuing to close the distance between them. She took a step back; she couldn't help it, she just didn't know how to process the man in front of her. He stopped walking just a few feet away from her, and Peggy couldn't take her eyes off him.

It wasn't possible, but somehow it was happening anyway. Steve Rogers was alive. Her Captain was alive.

"Steve?" Peggy finally said, barely holding back tears.

"It's me, Peg. I'm real." He held out his arms for a hug, and Peggy rushed into his arms. She squeezed him as tight as she possibly could, so there was no doubt that he was real. He was real, and he was here.

"Steve... how?" she managed, looking up at him as they pulled apart.

"It's a long story Peg." He laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked at the ground. "A really long story."

"Well why don't you come inside and tell me about it?"

"I'd love that." He looked back up at her with a golden smile, his eyes as full of love as they'd been before she lost him. She felt a deep ache in her heart, followed by a wave of guilt unlike anything she'd ever felt before as she walked Steve inside the house she shared with Daniel.

She faltered and fumbled with the keys at the door, but she couldn't just turn Steve away. Somehow, he'd managed to come back to her. She couldn't send him packing without talking to him for at least a little while.

"Alright, why don't you sit down here in the kitchen, and I'll... I'll make some tea..."

Peggy set down her case files on the nearest table, fighting to control her shaking hands as Steve Rogers took a seat at the table in her house.

Get a grip, Peggy scolded herself. She was not the kind of person who fell apart like this, no matter how tired she was. Sure, the former love of her life was sitting in the house she shared with the current love of her life. And yes, she thought she'd never see Steve again. But she still needed to keep it together!

Peggy sat down with Steve and two cups of tea, and her hands only shook a little. Finally, she mustered the strength to look at him again, this time without tears in her eyes. She scanned his face, looking for anything that might give her information, and worried he might disappear if she looked away. He looked a little older than the last time she'd seen him, and more tired. But he was still her Steve.

"Steve... it's so good to see you again. But please, I need to know how this happened? How are you here? Howard and I-" Her voice broke, and she took a second to collect herself. "Howard and I looked for you for so long."

Steve reached out and took Peggy's hands, staring back at her and speaking with a smile on his face.

"Peggy, I'll tell you everything. I've gotta warn you though, it's gonna be a long story."

"That's fine. Just so long as I get to hear all of it," she breathed.

"Alright. Well, it all started when I woke up in a fake hospital in New York..."

It took an hour and a half, but Steve told Peggy the whole story. Everything from waking up in New York in 2012 to coming back to her after a decade of struggles. Peggy could hardly believe it, even with all the crazy things she'd seen with the SSR.

"You okay?" Steve asked after Peggy stayed silent for a few minutes.

"Yes, I am, it's just... well, it's a lot to take in."

"I know. And I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you." He paused, and there was another moment of silence before Steve spoke up again. "So, uh... how about that dance?"

Peggy couldn't help the short laugh that escaped her mouth. The situation was just so absurd! The former love of her life, whom she'd presumed dead, was suddenly sitting in her kitchen to make good on a dance he'd promised her years before.

Still, Peggy couldn't exactly turn him down. Not after he'd gone through hell and cheated with time travel to get back to her.

"I'd love that."

The two stood and moved to the living room, where Peggy put on the radio. Steve pulled her close, and they swayed back and forth gently. They didn't talk, but they didn't have to. Steve was just happy to have her back, and to finally be able to hold her in his arms.

Peggy, for her part, was lost in her thoughts. Steve's arms around her were strong and solid, leaving no doubt in her mind that this was real. He was here, and this wasn't a dream.

Unfortunately, that sent Peggy reeling even more. She couldn't deny the feeling that had come rushing back like a tidal wave when she'd first seen Steve, and those feelings all but buried her in guilt. She was in living with Daniel, for Christ's sake! She was in love with him, but her heart still raced at the sight of Steve standing before her.

Still, the more Peggy thought about it, the more she remembered just how much Daniel meant to her. She was in love with Steve once, but that had been quite a while ago. She had been in love with Daniel longer, after finally letting Steve go, and she built a life with Daniel. She wanted to keep building that life together.

As confident as Peggy felt in this decision, it only brought on a new wave of shame. Steve had spent a decade thinking about her and trying to get back to her, and she had moved on in about a year. He'd left all his friends and everything about the new life he'd built for himself to be with her, and she'd moved on to someone else.

The song on the radio wound down, and Peggy took a step back from Steve. She looked up at him as the next song started, feeling the shame burning in her chest as he looked at her in confusion. She didn't want to have this conversation, ever. But she owed it to him, and she owed it to Daniel.

"Steve... I'm so happy to have you back," she started, trying to work up the nerve to say what came next. Enemy agents were no problem, but this conversation with Steve was taking all her strength. "And when I first saw you... well, honestly it didn't seem real. I didn't think it was possible that I'd be lucky enough to get you back."

Steve smiled and took a step towards her. Peggy took his hands in hers and looked up into his shining blue eyes.

"But Steve... well, I really thought you were never coming back. That you were..." she swallowed hard, glancing away before meeting his eyes again with renewed determination. "I thought you were dead. And Steve, I really am so glad you're not. I'm happy I get to see you again, and that our last moment isn't the day you went into the ice. But Steve, I moved on."

Peggy's voice almost broke with these words, and she could see the shock and confusion on Steve's face. But then she thought of Daniel, and the warm and comfortable feeling she got whenever she was around him. She kept speaking.

"It took me some time, but I let you go, Steve. And I truly found the love of my life. I'm so sorry that you're not coming back to the life you were expecting, but Steve... I'm spoken for."

Steve looked down and shook his head, trying to process the new information. He was truly speechless. Finally, he squeezed Peggy's hands one time before letting them go and looking back up at her. He looked like he was barely holding himself together, but he steeled himself and spoke anyway.

"I guess it was pretty crazy of me to expect to just pop back into your life like nothing happened, huh?"

"Oh, Steve, no. It wasn't crazy. And I spent a long time hoping that's exactly what you'd do. But things have changed since then."

Steve nodded a little, not saying anything as he let this new reality sink in. Finally, he took a deep breath and looked at Peggy again, a weak smile on his face.

"So, this love of your life. Tell me about him."

"Steve, you really don't have to-"

"Peggy. I came back here because, more than anything else, I wanted you in my life. Is this exactly what I had in mind when I came back? No. But you're still important to me, and it's been a decade for me. I think I can come around to the idea of being just friends."

"Well... if you're sure..."

"I'm sure." This time, when the Captain met her eyes, there was no glimmer of sadness behind them. There was a hint of a defeated look, sure, but mostly he was back to the Steve she'd seen on her porch, happy just to finally see her face again.

"Alright then. His name is Daniel Sousa, and he served in Europe as well."

"I guess you have a type," Steve joked, giving Peggy a light nudge. She smiled.

"We met at the SSR, where I started working after the war. We were friends for some time before we finally managed to get around to our first date, something a coworker of ours likes to rub in regularly..."

Peggy and Steve continued to talk for another hour. She caught him up on everything he'd missed in the last year, from her biggest cases to her annoying coworkers and all the small details they'd left out of the history books. He gave her more details about the new friends he'd made in the future, including, apparently, Howard's son.

"I can't believe he actually finds a woman he wants to commit to for the rest of his life," Peggy said with a shake of her head.

"Yeah, honestly, I was pretty shocked too."

"So tell me, what is Howard's son like?"

"Well-"

"Peggy? I'm home." They were interrupted from a voice at the entrance hall as Daniel Sousa came through the door. It was getting fairly late, but Peggy was still surprised he'd come home before midnight. He'd seemed dead set on solving the case before getting any sleep when she'd last left him in his office.

"Is that the man of the hour?" asked Steve, straightening up.

"It is. Give me a moment, I'd like to speak to him first and give him a warning before he finds Captain America in our living room."

Steve nodded, and Peggy headed for the door.

"Welcome home, Daniel," she said, smiling and going to give him a kiss. He put an arm around her and pulled her close, and Peggy felt more sure than ever that she'd chosen the right man.

Daniel Sousa was the love of her life.

"I'm happy you made it home before sunrise," Peggy said, helping Sousa shrug out of his coat and set aside hat.

"Yeah, well, I figured I might do a better job solving the case if the words on the page weren't blurry when I looked at 'em," he explained.

"Yes, I would imagine that would help." They smiled at each other, then Peggy spoke again. "Listen, Daniel, this is going to sound insane, but when I came home from work Steve Rogers was standing on our porch."

Daniel's expression dropped into one of deep concern.

"Peg, what are you talking about? I know he meant a lot to you, but the guy's been dead for years..."

Peggy rolled her eyes. "I understand why you'd assume it was a sleep-deprived hallucination, but I'm really not seeing things. It's a long story, but he's alive and he's back. And he's in the living room. Come on, I want you to meet him."

Daniel looked terrified for his girlfriend's sanity, but he allowed her to lead him into the living room. As soon as he cleared the doorway he stopped dead in his tracks. Either they were having a weird, couples hallucination, or Captain America really was sitting in his living room.

Steve stood and walked over to Daniel, taking the initiative once he noticed Daniel frozen in shock. He held out a hand for Sousa to shake, and after a minute of stunned silence, he did.

"You- You're really here," Daniel breathed, not taking his eyes of the living legend in front of him.

"I am. And I've heard a lot of good things about you. It's good to meet you."

Daniel shook his head. "Good things about me," he muttered, dropping his gaze from Steve and dropping down onto the nearest couch.

"Daniel, I know it's a lot to process," Peggy said, sitting next to him and taking his hand. "But Steve can explain it all."

Daniel scoffed once. Just like Peggy, he really didn't know what else to do with the absurd situation in front of him.

Peggy motioned for Steve to sit across from them, and Steve started explaining to Daniel everything he'd told Peggy. Daniel barely registered some of it, but he got the important parts. Like "time travel" and "not over Peggy".

Once Steve finished talking, he and Peggy both waited for Daniel to say something. "Wow" or a swear word or something like that. Instead, he stood abruptly from the couch without looking at Steve or Peggy.

"I need some air," he said, and went into the kitchen without another word. It had been years since Agent Krzeminski died, and years since he'd made fun of Sousa for having feelings for Peggy, but Daniel still couldn't get the dead agent's words out of his head.

No girl's gonna trade in a red, white, and blue shield for an aluminum crutch.

"Daniel?" Peggy's voice came from the kitchen doorway. Sousa was leaning against their table, lost in horrible, horrible thoughts.

"He came here to get back together with you," Daniel said. It was a statement, not a question.

Peggy froze halfway to her boyfriend. Steve had said a few times that he didn't want to break the two of them up, and that he was happy just being friends, but apparently Daniel hadn't heard him.

"Yes, he did. At first."

"And what, he changed his mind? Too good a guy to want to get between us?" Daniel spoke the words with venom, but not at Peggy. The anger and sadness was directed at Steve and himself as he looked at the floor. He couldn't bring himself to turn to Peggy.

"Yes. And because he realized he didn't stand a chance against you."

That made Daniel pause. He turned to face Peggy, not quite willing to let himself hope he was right.

"What do you mean?"

"Steve came here hoping to go back to the way things were, before he went into the ice. I told him I'd moved on, and found the real love of my life. You. He's chosen to respect that and for once in his life not start a fight he can't win."

Daniel blinked a few times, then slowly a smile spread across his face. He walked over to Peggy and pulled her close for a long kiss before pulling away to look at her with nothing but pure love and adoration in his eyes. He was walking on air. He should've known Krzeminski was wrong about this; that guy was wrong about everything to do with women.

"Peggy Carter, I love you."

"And Daniel Sousa, I love you."

Sousa grinned, then managed to dip Peggy in another kiss. He almost took both of them to the ground with the move, but he somehow pulled it off, and he was too happy to care anyway.

"So, does this mean you're willing to make peace with Steve?"

"Yeah, I guess it does. Guy's a living legend, he'd probably be a pretty interesting friend to have. I guess I don't have a problem with him if he's not gonna mess with you."

Peggy grinned. "Well, that's good, because he's staying here until we find a more permanent place for him to stay."

"You're kidding," Daniel groaned.

"Sorry, but no. If it helps though, remember Thompson's in town next week and coming over for dinner. Imagine how much fun we're going to have messing with him with Steve here."

Daniel's smile grew into a grin to match Peggy's.

"I can really get behind that."


End file.
